Interviews

Murphy buys in to Albion philosophy

Jacob Murphy says he bought into Darren Moore’s philosophy for Albion the moment the pair first spoke.

The Newcastle winger arrived at The Hawthorns on transfer deadline day after Albion fought off competition from elsewhere to land the England Under-21 international.  

And Murphy, who will remain with the club until the end of the Sky Bet Championship season, admits it was Moore who convinced him Albion was the right option. 

“It’s an amazing club so far and you can see the size of it. It’s a club with Premier League stature and I’m really happy to be here,” he said. 

“I just had a feeling that this would be the place for me to be. I had a really good conversation with the manager, he told me his thoughts and the philosophy that he’s got going here, and it’s the thing that I really bought into. It’s why I wanted to join. 

“After really positive talks this was the place for me to come for my development. 

“It’s a massive club and you can see that by how well they’re doing in the league so far. They’re scoring goals for fun and for a winger this is an amazing team to be able to be part of. 

“I’m looking forward to helping the team score more goals. As a forward player you want to score goals and get assists, you want to be part of that. 

“To be able to join that and add to what they’ve already got, I’m excited, and hopefully I can chip in with a lot of goals. 

“100 per cent [this is how I play]. It’s very, very attacking. The formation is one I like to play so I’m looking forward to getting out there, on Saturday hopefully, and showing people what I can do." 

Murphy is also looking forward to reigniting his partnership with fellow Newcastle team-mate Dwight Gayle.

“In the Championship he is devastating," Murphy said of Gayle. "He frightens the life out of all defenders. We linked up quite well when we were back at Newcastle. 

“We’ve been in contact and I’m looking forward to partnering up again with him. 

“Knowing that he was here helped me. It’s a familiar face around and someone as class as Dwight  being around is only going to help with my development." 

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